Conservation efforts restore populations of endangered species worldwide

Conservationists and local communities are successfully reversing population declines for several endangered species through habitat protection, breeding programs, and community involvement.

In Central and East Africa, conservation teams work with local people to protect mountain gorillas. These efforts, which include veterinary care and anti-poaching initiatives, have helped the population grow to over 1,000 individuals. Similarly, in India, forest conservation and sustainable forestry have helped tigers reclaim land.

India now hosts about 70% of the world's wild tigers following a period where the global population fell to an estimated 3,200 in 2010. In North America, the bald eagle has seen a major recovery following a ban on the pesticide DDT and the implementation of stronger legal protections. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that the population in the lower 48 states rose from roughly 72,434 birds in 2009 to over 316,000 birds.

In the southeastern United States, American alligators were removed from the endangered species list in 1987 after decades of regulated harvesting and wetland management. Other regions are also seeing results through creative strategies. In the Philippines, Project CURMA’s Paw Patrol uses trained dogs to find buried sea turtle eggs to protect them from poachers. In Spain and Portugal, the Iberian lynx has rebounded from near extinction through captive breeding and habitat restoration.

Other successes include the recovery of southern white rhinos, giant pandas, and humpback whales.